US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi during a four-day visit to India, with energy security emerging as a key focus of the discussions.
Rubio arrived in the eastern city of Kolkata on Saturday morning before travelling to the Indian capital, reports BBC.
US officials said Rubio extended an invitation to Modi to visit the White House during their meeting.
Modi later said the two leaders had discussed “issues related to regional and global peace and security”.
The visit comes as Washington and Delhi attempt to reshape their economic ties amid a global energy crisis triggered by the Iran war, which has severely affected India.
Energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow waterway that has become a major flashpoint since Israel and the US launched attacks on Iran — have almost come to a standstill.
Iran has used the effective closure of the strait, through which around 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies pass, as a pressure tactic in fragile peace negotiations with the US.
India, which imports more than 80% of its energy requirements, has been badly impacted by the disruption. Nearly half of India’s crude oil imports usually pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Following the meeting, Rubio’s spokesman said the US Secretary of State had discussed the Middle East situation with Modi.
“[He] emphasised that the United States will not let Iran hold the global energy market hostage and affirmed that US energy products have the potential to diversify India’s energy supply,” the US official said.
Ahead of the meeting, Rubio had indicated that Washington was keen to sell India “as much energy as they’ll buy”.
Indian officials are expected to welcome increased energy imports from the US, as such purchases could also help reduce the trade deficit that has long frustrated US President Donald Trump.
The US goods trade deficit with India reached $58.2 billion (£43.3 billion) in 2025, marking a 27.1 per cent increase compared with 2024.
However, analysts say relying heavily on US energy imports may not provide an easy solution because shipments from the US involve longer and more expensive routes for India.
Experts also argue that replacing the current shortfall in India’s imports solely with US supplies would not be practical.
“Energy security is going to be the key theme of this visit because the Iran situation is not going to be resolved anytime soon,” said Vineet Prakash, associate professor of US studies at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University.
“The US has already given a waiver to India on buying Russian oil, but Delhi is likely to push for more concessions,” he added.
Rubio’s visit also takes place against the backdrop of continuing tensions between Washington and Delhi over trade negotiations and conflicting claims regarding the brief India-Pakistan conflict last year.
While Trump has repeatedly claimed he helped broker peace between the neighbouring countries, Delhi has consistently rejected the assertion, maintaining its long-standing position against third-party mediation between the two nuclear-armed South Asian nations.
Delhi also appears uncomfortable with Trump’s public admiration for Pakistani army chief Asim Munir, whom the US president has described as his “favourite field marshal”.
Pakistan’s mediation efforts between Iran and the US have also strengthened ties between Islamabad and Washington.
Prakash said the development was unsurprising because Pakistan shares a long border with Iran and remains strategically important for the US.
However, he suggested Rubio was unlikely to comment publicly on Pakistan during the visit.
“Any talks around Pakistan are likely to stay behind closed doors when Rubio meets leaders in Delhi,” Prakash added.
In recent months, both Washington and Delhi have taken steps to improve relations.
Earlier this year, Trump reduced reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 per cent after a 10-month deadlock, a move that was welcomed in Delhi.
After a US Supreme Court ruling against Trump’s sweeping tariff measures, the levies were cut further to 10 per cent, easing pressure on Indian exporters.
The tariff reductions followed India’s commitment under an interim trade agreement in February to purchase American goods worth $500 billion, including energy, aircraft, technology and agricultural products.
The two countries are currently negotiating the final details of a broader bilateral trade deal, although specifics of the talks remain unclear.
Trade experts remain cautious about the large figures being discussed, noting that current India-US trade remains far below the proposed $500 billion target and that Trump’s announcements have yet to produce concrete investment commitments from India.
